Signal lamp



F. JAEDICKE March 13, 1934.

1l, lil-Q i @l 7 illlllllll-IIIIIIIIP A* /nve/zor: Fmlnmcn JAEDICKE Patented Mar. 13, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE SIGNAL LAMP Application February 16,

1932, Serial No. 593,359

In Germany July 3, 1931 1 Claim.

This invention relates to signal lamps.

When coal gas, oil gas, liquid oil gas or dissolved acetylene are employed for removable continuously-burning signal lamps, then such gas is 5 stored in containers (steel flasks), which are either placed on the ground or are fixed on the signal post. The connection with the removable continuously-burning signal lamp is usually brought about by a iiexible tube or hose. These flexible tubes are naturally subjected to a great Wear and will tend to leak and to entangle themselves in the elevating devices during a strong wind or, as is the case especially with railway signal lamps, in the mechanical setting devices.

The attaching of the bottle directly to the removable signal lamp itself has hitherto been disregarded in most cases for the following reasons:

With coal gas and oil gas the low heating Value of these gases (about 3800 or about 9000 heat units/cubic metre) requires a high storage pressure (up to 100 atmospheres) for the storing of larger gas quantities and therefore bottles of great wall thickness and weight. With acetylene (about 12000 heat units/cubic metre) a smaller storage pressure is indeed possible atmospheres). However, the weight of the bottle is here further raised on account of the porous lling mass and the acetone lling. With liquid oil gas (about 14900 heat units/cubic metre) a high storage pressure (about 100 atmospheres) is likewise necessary for liquefaction. Moreover, in the Winter great trouble occurs on account of hydrocarbons which remain liquid when special equalizing chambers (which also mean an increase of weight) are not provided.

If recourse is had, however, as has already been attempted, to fastening the bottles directly to the elevating device of the lamp, then a flask of small size must be chosen. This only permits a relatively small period of burning, or, intermittent replacement must be provided for in order to extend the gas supply for the light. Intermittent light is however, in many cases not desired.

Thus, it comes about that the requirement of a small hourly gas consumption, e. g. of about 11/2 to 3 litres, with sui'iicient light strength and suicient scattering to some extent, which is precisely the problem which is present in the case of elevatable continuously-burning signal lamps, is either incapable of attainment with the usual gases or is not made possible with sufficient reliability.

The invention resides in the combination of a signal lamp adapted to burn gaseous fuel continuously and a gas bottle containing a gas of which propane is at least the major constituent (not less than 90 per cent propane), the lamp and bottle being built into a single unit easily capable 00 of removal as a whole from the supporting frame, casing or the like.

The low storage pressure (about 8 atmospheres) permits of the employment of gas bottles of materially smaller wall thickness and as a resuit of the lower weight resulting therefrom of a simultaneous elevation of the bottle with the lamp. The high heating value (about 22000 heat units/cubic metre) permits the storing of a large quantity of heat units in a relatively small gas Y0 bottle and brings with it also, with low gas consumption, the possibility of a more certain burning burner, which generates a sufficient light strength and a sufficient scattering. Even with great cold the feeding of such a burner with propane gas or a propane-rich gas is reliable.

The accompanying drawing illustrates an example of a removable continuously-burning signal lamp in accordance with the invention.

The bottle valve 1 is screwed directly on to the B0 connecting socket 2 of the pressure regulator which forms the lower part of the lamp. In order` to avoid too great sideways oscillations of the gas bottle which is screwed on to the lamp, an additional holding arm which is xed on to the elevating slides may naturally also be provided.

The union nut of the connecting socket 2 is advantageously formed as a ring-like knob 3 bent downwards and serves as a lamp base which affords a protection of the socket 2 against dirty- 90 ing when the lamp is stood on the ground.

The burner 4 is built on to the pressure regulator 5 but out of alignment with the axis of the regulator so as to permit access to the tube and, the adjusting screw 6 of the spring 7 of the pres- 95 sure regulator 5 at any time.

I claim:

A railway signal lamp unit of such Weight that it may be readily raised and lowered on a standard, comprising a small container containing liquid propane and capable of withstanding 8 atmospheres pressure, an expansion chamber, a regulating valve for regulating a passage from the container to the expansion chamber, and a burner having a gas passage connected to the expansion chamber.I

FRIEDRICH JAEDICKE. ,f 

